Deadly Secrets (5 page)

“She didn’t mention anything about that gal in the flea market did she?”

Bubba shook his head. “Nope, not a word. You think there was something funny about that?”

“Not necessarily. I just thought it was odd the way Anna handled the whole thing.”

“Well, she didn’t say anything to me. Matter of fact, she didn’t talk much at all, except to cuss Cam up one side and down the other.”

“So you figure it was about midnight when Anna left the bar?”

“Near as I can recollect it was. We’d put a pretty good dent in the bottle and everything was friendly enough but then like I said, I moved over and was talkin’ to Doug and the boys. That’s when Leroy got Anna riled up again.”

Kelly frowned. “So neither you nor Leroy offered to go with her when she was ready to leave.”

“She’d have decked me if I’d tried to go home with her,” Bubba muttered.

“I thought her beef was with Cam.”

Bubba blushed. “I told you I acted like a jerk.”

Kelly scowled. “Okay, whatever it was, why don’t you go ahead and cough it out. It can’t have been all that bad.”

“It weren’t very damn good,” Bubba said. Sweat poured down his face. “I can’t believe I was such an asshole but you know how a drunk is about his booze. When Anna got pissed off at Leroy, she grabbed hold of the whiskey bottle and started chug-a-luggin’. That’s when I came back to the table and grabbed the bottle away from her. She got so mad she hauled off and smacked me one.”

Bubba stopped and pulled a handkerchief out of his pocket to wipe his face. “You know I ain’t the hittin’ type—especially with women but it musta been a reflex ’cause when she did that, I hauled off and damn near knocked her outta her chair.”

Kelly frowned and shook his head. “I can imagine Anna’s reaction to that.”

“Yeah! She grabbed the bottle and whacked it down on the table so hard it damn near broke bottle and table both. Then she kicked back her chair, grabbed her bag, told me and Leroy to kiss her ass and hightailed it for the door.”

“So that was the last time you talked to her?”

“Yeah but she made a couple of remarks before she got out the door that you might want to ask Cam about.

“How’s that?”

Bubba shrugged his shoulders. “I’d rather you asked Cam.”

“Okay, I’m going to have a talk with him anyhow. Likely he’ll bring it up himself.”

“I still feel like shit,” Bubba said.

“That won’t do any good, Bubba.” Kelly gave the little guy a straight, hard look. “You had no way of knowing Anna was going to be murdered. The way I see it, the two of you had a lot of good times together and I’m sure that’s what she’d want you to remember.”

Bubba lifted his head and tried a weak smile. “Thanks, Kelly. At least I feel better knowing you understand what happened last night.”

Kelly smiled. “Not to worry,” he said. “I know you were a good friend of Anna’s.”

Bubba slid out of the booth. “A few of us are getting together tonight to have a few drinks and kinda give Anna a send off,” he said. “Think you could stop by?”

Kelly nodded. There’d be lots of loose talk flying around and that kind of get together was good for bringing out the gossip. He just might hear something interesting. “I’ll be there,” he said. “I think it’s a good idea getting together to talk about old times. It’ll make everybody feel better.”

“Anna always said she wanted a big wake,” Bubba said and tears started to well up in his eyes. “I best get over there and see if that bunch wants to come.” He stuck out his hand and Kelly gave him a firm grip.

“You take it easy now,” Kelly said.

Bubba nodded and headed toward the round table.

Kelly glanced across the room and saw Darlene had arrived while he was busy with Bubba. Cam looked up and nodded and Kelly crossed the room to join him behind the bar.

“We’ll go out this way.” Cam led Kelly through the kitchen, out the back door and across a grassy lot. Cam’s private quarters were separated from the Hideaway by a hedge of tall evergreens. The two men approached a rustic bachelor’s cabin, where Cam opened the front door and they stepped into a small room dominated by a stone fireplace. Inside, Cam motioned Kelly to one of the leather chairs that flanked the fireplace.

“I’ll plug the coffee in,” he said and crossed to a small efficiency kitchen, where he plugged a pot into the wall and grabbed a beer from the refrigerator.

Kelly sank into the soft leather and stretched his legs.

“I think I’ve got myself in a jam,” Cam said, as he joined Kelly and settled into the other chair.

“How’s that?”

“I had another argument with Anna after you left last night.”

Kelly studied the other man’s face. His friend was on the verge of exploding. Ten to one there was more to this than an argument egged on by booze. “From what I remember of Anna’s condition, I’d be more surprised if you hadn’t mixed it up with her again,” Kelly said.

“There’s things you don’t know about me ’n Anna.” A slow flush spread up Cam’s neck. “I’m kinda sensitive about it but I suppose you heard I’ve been having some money trouble.”

Kelly nodded. “I’d heard but there’s no shame in that. Ever since the oil patches went dry, even the high rollers have been under the gun.”

“I know but this isn’t the first time. A couple of years back, I damn near lost the place. I’d heard talk that Anna had some bucks, so I hit her up for a loan. She let me have it but she wasn’t no fool. She had Bill Shipton write up the note. The way he worded it, she’d get the Hideaway if I defaulted on the payments.”

“That’s standard in one of those notes.” Kelly frowned. He didn’t like the direction things were going. Money and murder were a nasty combination. “Are you trying to say you’d gotten behind on the payments?”

Cam
looked embarrassed. “At first, I paid her right on the dot but things got tight and I started to let them slide. She never raised a fuss and I guess I kinda took her for granted.”

“Did you ever get her paid?”

“Almost. It’s been a tough year though and to tell you the truth, a couple of days ago I asked her if she could let me have another five thousand.”

“Throwing her out of the bar probably wasn’t too smart a move considering you were in default.”

“I know. I was stupid. When I asked her for the money, she didn’t even mention what I still owed her…just said she’d think about it. Then when she came in yesterday afternoon, I asked her again and she jumped all over me.”

“Was she drunk or sober?”

The bar owner lit a cigarette, taking a deep drag before he answered. “She was cold sober but man, was she mean. I’d never seen Anna like that. She had me scared and that’s the truth.”

“Were Bubba and Leroy in the bar?”

“No, this was earlier.”

“She came over to the bar before the flea market closed then?”

“Yeah. She stopped for a quick beer on her dinner break.

“So did the money question come up again later?”

“Not directly but she hinted about it when she started in on me for asking her to leave. I wouldn’t have eighty-sixed her but she was getting so damn drunk I was afraid to let her stay.”

Kelly nodded. “You’d have been in a real jam if the cops had shown up.”

“Don’t I know it.” Cam rolled his eyes. “And Anna knew it too,” he said. “This wasn’t the first time I’ve had to throw her out. She’s done it before but she never held a grudge and once she sobered up she always thanked me for seeing that she got home.”

“She would,” Kelly said.

“I should’ve known better last night though. Something was biting her hard and she was taking it out on everybody.”

“Maybe she was having money problems and getting riled was an excuse to turn you down. Had she been acting like she was short of cash lately?”

“Hell, no. She hadn’t been any different from normal ’til yesterday. Like I said, when I first asked her about the money, it didn’t faze her a bit. All she said was that she’d think about it and get back to me.”

“What happened after I left her with Bubba and Leroy?”

“Nothing at first. She ignored me. Then she started a ruckus with them. It got pretty loud and the next thing I knew, she grabbed her bag and kicked over the chair. I figured ‘good, she’s outta here’, but I spoke too soon. She got as far as the front door. Then she stopped, blew up her cheeks and at the top of her lungs told the whole damn bar she was calling my note and taking over this place.”

Kelly frowned. “That was probably the booze talking,” he said. “You know Anna. She never meant half of what she said when she’d taken on a full load.”

“Not this time,” Cam said. “You shoulda seen the look on her face. Anyway, I wasn’t about to let it slide. I grabbed my coat, tossed the till key at Darlene and took off after Anna.”

“Was she going to her cabin?”

“Nope. She went straight down the hill toward the flea market. I tried to get her to stop but she was raving. The wind was blowing a gale and it was raining so hard I couldn’t see two feet ahead. Anna fell down a couple of times and I tried to help her up but she shook me off and told me to keep my filthy hands to myself.”

Kelly’s eyebrows went up. “That must’ve been some sight.”

Cam
nodded. “I finally caught up with her on the bridge, then I had to wrestle her against a railing to get her stopped.”

Kelly shook his head.

“I know. It looks bad and that’s not the worst of it. She kept kicking and fighting. Then she bit my hand and I guess something snapped. I pinned her up against the railing and told her I’d wring her scrawny neck if she didn’t shut her mouth.”

“Not the best choice of words,” Kelly said. “But since that scene was just between you and Anna, you’d probably be better off to forget it happened.”

“I wish I could but Frank was down at the foot of the bridge putting up his boat. I know damn well he saw me shove Anna up against the railing and he probably heard what I said. My voice was pretty loud.

“I didn’t spot Frank until after Anna took off. He was up against the piling, close enough to hear loud voices and you can bet your ass he was listening as hard as he could. There’s not one chance in a million he’ll keep his mouth shut either. You know Frank.”

Kelly nodded agreement. “What was Frank doing down there at that time of night?” he asked.

“I don’t know. He’d probably been out night fishing. He’s out there every time the game warden’s back is turned. The storm must’ve forced him off the lake.”

“Well, it’s too bad in one way but at least he’ll be able to vouch for the fact you left Anna on the bridge and went back to the bar?”

Cam
flinched. “That’s part of the problem. After Anna took off for the flea market, I walked across the bridge and down to the pilings. I figured I’d wait out the storm and maybe have a few words with Frank. But when I got there, he’d disappeared. I hung around for about thirty minutes but there wasn’t any sign of him. It must have been after one when I started back up the hill.”

“That’s not so good.”

“No and what’s worse, I didn’t go right back to the bar.”

“Why not?”

“I was still too shook up. I figured I needed some cooling off time so I went to the house. I didn’t get back to the bar until closing time.”